Page 36

Laughing out loud when Tveir blinked with such fervor that her head nodded, Einn’s glance returned to her work station and started with her play by play.“I can’t remember if I told you or not, but it bears repeating either way, I found out the Norse goddess of Helheim and the Omnipotent Being known as Hope were Mates all the way in October of last year.It was a couple of weeks before Halloween and one of the Omnipotent Sisters–either Fate or Destiny–was having a Halloween Party with the express purpose of getting Hel and Hopper together.”

“May I ask a question?”Tveir asked.

“Yes, if it’s pertinent to this whole experiment.”

“It is.”

“Alright, fire away.”

“How do you know all this?Where did you get the information.There is no way you found…”

Loving the respect and awe she heard in her twin’s tone and reveling in the fact that she was in charge for the first time in their very long lives, Einn didn’t even try to keep the haughty sassiness she felt out of her tone.“Well, I know them because I’ve been spying on anybody and everybody with even an ounce of Magic I thought I might be able to use for a really long time.Had you been listening, you would’ve known that.”

“But you said you…”

“No, I most assuredly did not say I couldn’t do it.When you asked, about a year ago, I said I could, but I hadn’t perfected the cloaking element.”

“No, you…”

“Do you really thinknowis the time to be arguing with me, T?Do you really wanna push your luck and see what else I can do that you have either ignored or simply refused to acknowledge?”Narrowing her eyes, she looked over her shoulder and glared.“Do you feel lucky?”

“N-No,”Tveir voice shook within Einn’s mind.“Y-You’re right.I m-must’ve f-forgotten.I do…ahem…I do listen.” Inhaling a trembling breath, she added,“Please, Einn.Tell me all about the project.I promise…”

“The Twinometer…”

“Oh!Oh, yes!The Twinometer…”Tveir inhaled so deeply Einn heard it through their mental connection.“I promise I listen, Einn.I do.I really do.”Forcing a chuckle,

Pangs of guilt snuck past the wall of anger she was furiously trying to fortify.She hadn’t planned a coup.Had never even entertained the idea.She and Tveir were twins.They were two halves of the same whole,literally.They’d been together–side by side, in it together–for all their lives, and she’d never even imagined doing anything without her sister.

She loved Tveir.It was the one constant in her life.

But the shit had hit the fan.The straw had broken the camel’s back.Every time she’d felt disregarded, ignored, undervalued, and just plain used had flown in from every direction, even the farthest reaches of her soul.Layer upon layer of all the things she’d pushed aside, tamped down, and pretended not to see melded together forming a flaming ball of resentment and fury that exploded in every direction and forced Einn to act.

Her mind was awash with anything and everything harsh and unkind Tveir had ever done and said.A red haze bubbled up and overflowed, detonating like an atom bomb and the resulting crimson mushroom cloud within her psyche was unstoppable.The Magic had been flowing.Her hands had been reaching out for Tveir’s neck.

And before her brain caught up with her actions, her twin was locked inside a cage of Cold Iron from which there was no escape.

Centuries of sharing thoughts, emotions…everythingwith her twin hadn’t prepared her for the onslaught.It had been instantaneous, ferocious, and violent.For a split second, she almost released her sister and apologized.

But something stopped her.She felt the Dark and Light within her dueling for supremacy and for the first time in her very long life, the Dark side won.Chuckling to herself, she’d imagined a black helmet and mask on her face as she eerily wheezed, “Tveir, I am my sister.”And not even that stopped her from going with the flow.Being in control, having the power for once in their very long lives felt good.It felt right.

Then Tveir started to speak, and her resolve faltered.

Einn felt bad.T’s fear and trepidation were palpable.On top of it, her twin was confused, literally flummoxed by E’s behavior, by her outrage, by her unmitigated fury.

Knowing that Tveir was clueless to her own actions, her own entitlement, her sheer disregard from Einn and her feelings instantly reinvigorated ire.Right then and there, she decided it was time to teach er twin a lesson–one she would never forget.

It was nice.It was pretty.And it damned sure wasn’t fun, but it was satisfying.It was worth it.And there was no turning back.

Waiting for a few seconds, knowing how very much it terrified her twin that she wasn’t talking, Einn inhaled deeply, squared her sloped shoulders the best she could and spun to face Tveir.“And not beat a dead horse, but you know I could ‘look’ in on people because you did it with me more than once.You were…”

“That was different,” Tveir pleaded.“And it was only…”

“No!No!NO!It was NOT different!And it was absolutely, without a doubt notonlya few months ago!”Pointing her long, crooked finger with its knob of a knuckle and jagged, olive green nail, she shrieked, “I never said I couldn’t hear and see!I said I.Could.Not.Go.There.”Taking a threatening step forward, she lowered her pointed chin, pushed her paper-thin eyelids over her black, bulbous eyes, and pushed the words through her dingy yellow gritted teeth with deliberation and disgust, “I said the portal wasn’t stable.That itcouldcollapse at any moment.That we needed more testing with inanimate objects or maybe even some of the Scrubs stuck under the rug.”Stalking closer, her chin lowering even more and her eyes narrowing until all she could see was her twin, she seethed, “Just another example of you not listening… Of you disregarding, or ignoring, or just plain being an asshat where I am concerned.Let me reiterate It.Was.Not.Different.Get it?”

“I d-do,”Tveir mentally simpered.“I do understand, Einn.It’s just…”

“Fuck this shit!”Einn spat.Snapping her fingers, she removed the gag from Tveir’s mouth, gave a sweeping motion with her left hand and growled, “You are givin’ me a damned migraine.At least that’s what I think it is.I’ve never had one before.Leave it toyouto make my head feel like the inside of a bass drum.”Huffing with exasperation, she hissed, “Just speak aloud.Anything is better than your whiney voice boring a hole in my head.”